Tell me about 2 x 10 or 1x10

[ishaw]

I've always either gone with 3x9/10 or 1x9/10.

Contemplating a 2x10 build (well a rebuild of an existing bike) to make the herd less similar.

What are the merits/is the point of 2x10?

What gearing/chainring/cassette ratios are a good option for general riding?

I'm also thinking about 1 x 10. What is all this narrow/wide stuff all about?

Trying to get into new things and understand them, as all this new fangled stuff is a huge deviation from my normal bike builds. I'm trying to cut down, sell off what I don't need and be left with a few bikes that can suit different needs and encourage me to get out and ride rather than build and fettle in the garage.

 

[gradeAfailure]

Re:

I run 1x10 on my full suspension; 32T narrow/wide chainring with 11-36 cassette. Gets me up most things, even if I occasionally wish I had a bailout gear - just makes you fitter! Recently bought a used bike with 3x9 and thought I'd enjoy having a granny gear again but the torque just made the front lift on steep climbs.

For me, I think an 11-40 cassette (either 10 or 11 speed) with a 32T chainring is perfect.

Narrow/wide chainrings have profiled teeth that fit the narrow/wide gaps in the chain better, meaning improved chain retention. Very good, and they do work.

Bear in mind that 11 speed Shimano SLX is just about to be released and the cassettes will fit on a standard 8/9/10 speed freehub (as they only go to an 11t sprocket, unlike SRAM which needs a dedicated XD-driver due to having a 10t), and to buy a narrow/wide chainring, rear mech, cassette, shifter and chain will only be about £150. Worth thinking about.

 

[ishaw]

Thanks.

I have a set of xt 10 speed/3 or 2 speed front that I've put on a bike but I'm going to sell the frame and parts as it's one too many.

Thinking of keeping the drive train though and contemplating a 1 or 2x10 on an existing bike (possibly my sts as it's heavy as anything and from what I've read, the 1 or 2x10 is better suited to full suspension).

Would 2x10 be the way to go or 110?

 

[gradeAfailure]

Re:

Personally I'd go for 1x10. Superstar doing 33% off their narrow/wide chainrings with code 33F at the moment: http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/i ... -style.htm

32T chainring with 11-36 cassette is fine for (me) round here, but if you have an XT cassette you can remove the 15T & 17T sprockets, replace them with a 16T and then fit either a 40T or 42T expander (if it's a Shimano rear mech you may need a RAD cage - http://int.oneupcomponents.com/collections/all-products) if you need a bit of a lower range.

Full suspension doesn't "suit" 1x10 or 2x10 any more that any other bike does - unless the suspension kinematics have been designed around a specific chainring size.

For a 26" wheel/2.2 tyre:
At 30RPM, 32x36 gives you 2.1mph.
At 100RPM, 32x11 gives you 22.86mph

I use http://www.bikecalc.com/speed_at_cadence to work stuff out; only you know what speeds/cadence you're happy with! I like spinning at a higher cadence on flat/road bits, and am happy to get out of the saddle and attack hills so this works for me. If you grind big gears on the flat yet prefer to sit and twiddle up hills then maybe a 2x setup would be better - something like 36/22 front.

 

[ishaw]

Wow, that's all a bit sciency. I tend to just pootle about as/when/if I get the time so just looking for something fun rather than racy.

 

[66 triumph daytona]

Re:

I went from 2x10 to 1x11 and Ive never looked back.I use an 11-40 cassette matched with a 36t front and it covers pretty much everything.No front mech or shifter to worry about.Obviously a long cage rear mech is essential to cope with the wide cassette spread.

 

[scottproonly]

Re:

A medium cage mech is fine on my 34t-11t/40t
Kes

 

[66 triumph daytona]

Re:

Would your medium cage handle my larger front chainring?Im not the biggest fan of long cage.

 

[gradeAfailure]

Would your medium cage handle my larger front chainring?Im not the biggest fan of long cage.

The cage length of the mech has nothing to do with the size of the chainring; it's what gear spread capacity it has. XT M8000 GS (medium cage) has a capacity of 39T. 40-11=29T, so it'll be fine. Shimano do recommend the long cage for use on the 11-46T cassette though.

Wow, that's all a bit sciency. I tend to just pootle about as/when/if I get the time so just looking for something fun rather than racy.

Hah, sorry - I'm a technician/engineer so I tend to get a bit geek about this sort of thing (not necessarily a good thing!). As I said - if you twiddle up hills/push a big gear on the flat, go 2x10. If you're happy with a higher cadence on the flat/road and don't mind attacking hills a bit more, go 1x10.

 

[dyna-ti]

Personal thought :?

Easier on the legs or so it initially appears :? My set up for many moons was x3 @46/or48 /36/24.
Admittedly due to a fall i stopped riding foro too long and pretty much lost it all, but im finding the new set up 2x10 @38/24 to be quite easy to get on with.
Especially as you can imagain on the hills where the loss of fitness shows itself but on the 38 im finding theres enough of a range on the rear to allow a bit of pedal dancing :?

If you could follow any of that then give it a go proof of the pudding they say.


PS
Ive ended up with a couple of 2x10 cranks. One a new x9 ive just fitted, and a new rotor rex 3.2 i got after id fitted the x9 This place for making me spend money.
Was looking for a buyer for that before making the swop to rotor ,as i need to buy an inner rotor @60mm bcd and a rotor BB before i can fit it .